A tropical storm warning has been issued for most of the North Carolina coast as Sandy crawls its way northward.

The warning is in effect from Nags Head and points south. At 5 a.m. ET Saturday, the National Weather Service said Sandy was about 350 miles south-southeast of Charleston, South Carolina. It was a strong tropical storm with winds of 70 mph, down from 75 mph three hours earlier.

Gov. Bev Perdue also issued a state of emergency Friday for 33 eastern North Carolina counties. The declaration allows the state to provide more resources to help city and county governments during storm recovery.

Tropical storm-force winds and rain were expected to begin in North Carolina later Friday and could last as late as Tuesday, National Hurricane Center officials said.

Between 4 and 6 inches of rain are expected to fall east of U.S. 17. Coastal counties could see 30-40 mph sustained winds with gusts of up to 60 mph.

Areas as far west as Raleigh could see winds of 15-25 mph with gusts of up to 35 mph.

Rip currents and 18- to 22-foot waves are expected off the Outer Banks between Friday and Tuesday. The storm surge could be 1-5 feet above ground level along the Inner and Outer Banks.

WXII's Stephanie Berzinski and Rob Wu are stationed at the Carolina coast. Stay with WXII 12 News, WXII12.com and WXII 12 Mobile for the latest on Sandy.